Deep Water
by Destiny919
Summary: "Swimming or drowning, her eyes were the ocean, and he was in deep water." Makorra drabble series, might follow canon, might not. Unless otherwise labeled, chapters are unconnected.
1. Realization

Mako was not thinking very clearly at the moment. He hadn't been thinking clearly in over a week, ever since Korra had confessed that she liked him. And then, despite that, she'd gone out on a date with his brother. He'd accused her of using Bolin to get back at him for rejecting her, and she'd accused him of being jealous. Well, as it turned out, _she_ was the correct one. He did like her back.

He really, really liked her back.

She infuriated and annoyed him to no end, disrupted his careful plans for the future, and generally turned his world upside-down. But now, he was beginning to realize that the only way it could ever be right-side-up again was if she was in it. And not just as his teammate, not just as his friend.

Mako remembered the brief, warm pressure of her hand squeezing his for that moment, as a good-luck gesture when they were rescuing Bolin. In fact, he'd caught himself not just remembering it, but _fantasizing_ about it, feeling it all the time. Holding Korra's hand.

Spirits, what kind of moron was he? It was one thing for a guy to imagine doing . . . more intimate things with a girl as attractive as Korra, that was, or so he had heard, normal. But who imagined holding her damn hand? It was something only an idiot in love would . . .

Ah.

Shit.


	2. Decision Part 1

It was a very, very close call. He'd only avoided it by the skin of his teeth. Without that extra second of thought, the consequences could have been dire. Well, dire for his personal life, anyway. Thank the Spirits he'd only hugged instead of kissing her within an inch of both their lives like he'd wanted to.

Mako knew he shouldn't couldn't try and stop Korra from going after Amon. All he can do, and all he does, is tell her, very calmly and concisely, "Be careful." But that doesn't mean watching her fight wasn't the worst mental agony he'd endured in years. When she fell through the ceiling, it felt like his heart stopped beating in his chest and the world stopped turning on its axis, waiting on tenterhooks to see if the girl he loved would live or die.

He would never, ever resent Chief Beifong ever again. Not for her past refusals to cut starving orphans any slack when they had to resort to theft, not for being a total hardass in general, not for anything. She'd saved Korra, and the world resumed turning and his heart started beating again.

The two of them swung down and landed in the stands near him and Bolin. Before he even registered that his legs had started moving, he was already running. "I'm so glad you're okay" was the biggest understatement since he'd told her he thought she was amazing.

If he'd just done what he was dying to do, he'd have picked Korra up and swung her around and kissed her until they were both gasping for breath. And then he remembered a few crucial things, and at the last second didn't press his lips to hers, and just hugged her very, very tightly instead.

Chief among the things he'd remember at the very last second was the existence of Asami, who was supposed to be his girlfriend. He hadn't thought of her once since Amon showed, spared not a second to be concerned for her well-being. Of course, this could be chalked up to her being a nonbender, and therefore not in much danger, but the truth was that the second Amon showed up, let alone after Korra went after him, she hadn't even crossed his mind.

He couldn't continue like this. _They_ couldn't continue like this, whether the "they" was him and Asami or him and Korra. Both. And in order to stop loathing himself, to really think straight again, to be with the girl he really wanted, he had to do something. And tonight had revealed exactly what it was he had to do.


	3. Decision Part 2

Asami had received the information like a lady. She was kind and even-tempered as always. She told him they could of course still be friends. But the hurt was evident in the shininess of her eyes, and the way she turned her back to him as soon as she ould.

So yeah, he felt like an asshole.

But that wasn't going to stop him. Neither was the late hour. He knew Korra, home on Air Temple Island, would still be awake. He imagined throwing rocks at her window and climbing up the balcony, like he'd heard about in the stories his mother had told them so long ago, the ones Bolin loved and he only pretended to hate. But of course Korra's room was on the ground floor, and he was hardly a gallant suitor like in the stories. And she was sitting outside anyway, leaning against that spinning-panel contraption. When she saw him, she lifted her head and looked pleasantly surprised. "Hey, Mako. Where's Bolin? He can't be at the stadium."

"Nah, Toza's letting us stay at his apartment for a couple of nights." He hadn't expected the words came out so easily, and not in the choked, awkward voice he expected he'd be using very soon.

"Oh. That's good. Y'know, you guys could "

"Korra, I broke up with Asami."

She blinked. "Oh," she repeated. "How come?"

Mako put a hand over his eyes. He'd had this vague idea of telling her, then one of them kissing the other, and then living happily ever after. At least until morning. But of course, this was Korra. Disrupting his plans seemed to be her favorite hobby. "Isn't it obvious?" he muttered.

"No," replied Korra irritably. "If it was, why would I have asked?"

"It was because of _you_," he snapped back. "Because I _like_ you!"

"Last I checked, you liked us both and were 'confused'." Korra said the last word derisively. "Do me a favor, cool guy, and explain what cleared things up for ya."

"You almost getting yourself killed!" Mako exploded.

Korra, already poised for a rebuttal before he even spoke, paused. "Um, what did that do?"

"During the entire fight, I didn't think of Asami even once," he muttered, feeling rather ashamed. "While you were in danger, I couldn't think of anything but you. I just about went insane. _That_ did a pretty good job of clearing things up for me."

Korra's lower lip protruded in that way that had become so ridiculously endearing to him. "I guess that makes sense. So, okay. You broke up with Asami." She looked suddenly shy. "And now you're here? Came to talk to me?"

"Yes." Mako blushed and looked down.

"The reason behind _that_ is definitely obvious." Before Mako could reply, before he could even think about the meaning of her words, she'd grabbed hold of his scarf and pulled him towards her, pressing their lips together. His eyes shut and he leaned into it just like he had before. But this time, it could continue. Her hands moved to his shoulders, and then up to weave her fingers through his dark hair. His arms wrapped around her waist and he held her close to him.

"Yup," he mumbled in the few seconds he could speak, "definitely obvious."


	4. Confused

Korra wandered around the remains of the arena feeling rather desolate. The teams had finally been allowed in to collect whatever was left of their things. Some teams, she knew, wouldn't have anything left at all. For some reason this, more than anything, left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She'd lost track of Mako and Bolin a few minutes ago, and honestly hadn't made a big effort to find them. Outwardly, it might seem like she and Mako were doing a great job of being "just friends" and acting like nothing had happened. Inwardly, however, it was a different story.

She found it incredibly difficult. She'd been making a solid effort to like Asami, but that only seemed to make things worse, since it was so obvious that Asami had no idea what had occurred between her boyfriend and Korra. That made Korra want to punch someone. Someone with dark hair and an annoyingly stoic personality and disconcertingly good kissing skills and the name Mako.

He hadn't mentioned anything that had happened between them, not to her and not to Asami. He was still in a relationship with her, and all the winks and kiss blowing seemed to indicate that a breakup was not on the horizon. He didn't seem "confused" at all.

And yet.

There had been multiple occasions when she'd caught him staring at her, with a strange expression on his face. And after her fight with the Equalists he'd run to her, faster than she'd ever seen him move, with relief and anxiety saturating his voice _"I'm so glad you're okay!"_ and he'd hugged her rather harder than a simple friend and teammate might've.

Now several days had passed, and she and Mako were very definitely "just friends". Hell, he'd _moved in_ with Asami, even after she'd offered up Air Temple Island as a place for the brothers to stay. So she was feeling discouraged and disappointed, and just about ready to call it quits. Seriously, how long could he stay "confused"?

So she was wandering the practice rooms, alone and thinking more intensely than usual, when she saw him. "Oh, hey, Tahno." After their brief but charged conversation at the police headquarters, she felt that they had come far enough from their previous animosity that she should at least say hello.

"Hello, Miss Avatar." He looked better today, more like his former self, with his hair neater and no bags under his eyes.

"Are you collecting your stuff too?"

"Yup." He smirked. "But unlike you, I won't be bringing it back next year."

Korra squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm so sorry about what happened, Tahno. I should have let the council close the arena."

He shook his head and said, "It's not your fault. I would've asked to keep it open, too. Of course, it would have been nice if the _Uh _-vatar could've pulled off a heroic rescue in time," he added, with a ghost of his old swagger.

She chuckled. "Being electrocuted has some annoying side-effects, y'know."

"I have an idea about how you can make it up to me." He smirked again, more widely.

"Oh yeah? What?" She smirked back.

And then he leaned down and kissed her. She had not been expecting that. But she prided herself on having quick reflexes, and she was nothing if not impulsive. So she kissed him back.

She was just starting to feel pleasantly tingly all over when she heard an all-too-familiar voice yell, "Hey! _Korra_!"

They broke apart. Korra's cheeks were flaming. Tahno noticed the look on Mako's face and opened him mouth, a glint of danger in his eyes, but Korra shoved him away and muttered, "Get away. Hurry." She knew that look of Mako's. Tahno being unable to bend (as well as being Tahno) meant that it was a dangerous look indeed. "Uh, right," he said. "See you around."

When he was sufficiently close to the exit, Korra scowled at Mako and said, "What?"

"You ! You and he !" Mako spluttered. "You were kissing!"

"So? What's it to you?"

"I thought you liked _me_!"

Korra laughed mirthlessly. "Last I checked, _you_ had a girlfriend and _I _was a free woman." Before he could reply, she glared and continued, "I don't like being stringed along, Mako. Everything you've done recently has said that, in your book, the . . . other night never happened. So I have every right to kiss Tahno!"

"But I said I liked you back!"

"And then you said you were confused. And didn't tell Asami about it. I'm sure she'd love to know how upset you were that I kissed someone besides you."

"I am confused, Korra!" he snapped. "And I guess I just thought, or didn't think, that !"

"You haven't acted very confused! You moved in with her instead of me, and, and you guys are _blowing kisses_, and _winking_!" Korra's indignity made her slightly incoherent.

Mako buried his face in his gloved hands. "I moved in with Asami and not you because I'm confused! If I stayed with you, and saw you all the time, and there wasn't anyone around, I don't now what would happen, what I'd do!" He glared at her. "My judgment isn't the best when I'm around you, Korra. As you know."

"Yeah, same here. But I still don't like how you've been acting around me! The championship is over, Bolin's fine, and I don't see what's making you confused." Korra turned around and crossed her arms. "So I don't want to deal with this anymore. The probending season is over. I don't see why I should have to keep dealing with your 'confusion'."

There was a long silence behind her. And then, "Korra?"

"What?" She didn't turn around.

Mako reached out and grabbed her shoulder. She turned around to find his face thought-scramblingly close to hers, and wearing a soft expression she'd only seen once before. "I need to see something," he murmured. And pressed his lips to hers.

She'd had every intention of shoving him away and yelling some more, but suddenly she couldn't really remember why. Her arms twined around his neck, and he pulled her body closer to his. Every nerve in her body was zinging. It was a longer, fiercer, better kiss than the first one. When they finally broke apart, she mumbled, "You still confused?"

He replied, "You still got room for me on Air Temple Island?"

"Definitely." Now it was her turn to kiss him again.


	5. Failure

No. Not again. This could not be happening to him again.

He couldn't be seeing them, beaten and broken, lying on the ground.

He couldn't be remembering flashes of fire and screams and becoming an orphan.

He couldn't be seeing Korra, just as defeated as the others, facedown on the floor.

He couldn't be remembering his paralyzing panic during her fight with the Equalists last time.

He couldn't be helpless again. He couldn't be helpless like he was when his parents were murdered. He couldn't be useless like he was when Korra was fighting the Equalists. This just could not be happening, plain and simple.

But it was. And this time, he could save them. He could save _her_.

To protect the people he loved was an inherent part of him. He'd been successful at it for years, living with Bolin on the streets. He wasn't going to fail now.

"Korra was right," he muttered unnecessarily to Bolin. "We're going to have to do this quickly."

Mako went straight for Korra, leaving Bolin to collect Tenzin. She was warm, she was breathing, her heart was beating. He hadn't failed again.

But later, on the airship, he realized that he had failed. Because even if Korra was standing there, smiling at him, she was smiling sadly. He hadn't protected her. He'd hurt her, just as much as the blows from the Equalists' mechas. And with Asami standing behind him, needing him, he was helpless once again.


	6. Birthday

It was Korra's eighteenth birthday. The entire Air Temple Island group gathered at the main house to have cake and give the Avatar gifts and good wishes. All but one. Korra received gifts from Tenzin and Pema, the kids, Bolin, even Asami. But not Mako. He just stood off to the side, ignoring the worried glances sent his way by Asami, and the deliberate lack of glances from Korra.

After she'd accepted simultaneous hugs from the airbender kids and their new best friend Bolin, Korra came to try and talk to him. "Hey, cool guy," she said. "Why are you being such a party pooper?"

"I'm not," Mako grumbled. "I'm just . . ."

"You're just what?"

"Nothing." Without another word, Mako turned and walked out of the house. Korra's feet itched to follow him, but she didn't. If anyone should follow, it was Asami. His _girlfriend_. But she didn't move from her seat beside Pema, whom she'd grown close to since moving to the island.

Korra waited until the group had mostly dispersed. She was eighteen. She was the Avatar. She was powerful. She was not afraid to talk to a guy. Even if that guy was Mako.

Eventually she found him almost on the other side of the island, standing on the edge of a cliff and leaning his side against a large boulder. "Hey, don't jump!" she called. "I don't think I can save you in time."

"Korra."

"Mako." She imitated him with an exaggerated form of his reserved tone. She put her hands on her hips. "You didn't get me anything for my birthday," she said accusingly.

"I . . . I couldn't think of anything to get you," he mumbled truthfully.

"Well, lucky for you, I thought of something."

He looked at her, slightly confused. "What?"

Korra swallowed. Yes, she really was going to go through with this. "I want you to kiss me."

His eyes went wide and a myriad of emotions crossed his face. Shock, confusion, regret, maybe just a little bit of happiness, and a whole lot of longing. "Korra, I . . ." he trailed off.

"Listen," she began, "I know you have Asami. This doesn't have to mean anything. It's just . . ." She bit her lip. "I just want one more time, y'know? Besides, you owe me one. I've kissed you, you have to kiss me."

"Korra, that doesn't make any logical sense."

"Doesn't have to." She looked at him with an indecipherable expression in her eyes, the irises the same color as the bay below. "Please, Mako? Just kiss me."

Mako shut his eyes. He had Asami. He shouldn't want this so badly. He should want to kiss her now, and again every five minutes after that. But he did. So he did. He leaned down and gently pressed his lips to her waiting ones. And then found it impossible to remove them.

She tasted like birthday cake. And saltwater. And Korra.

Her arms wrapped around his neck, and his around her waist, pulling her closer. He parted her lips with his own, and she sighed into his mouth. It was as if she had exhaled smoke directly into his brain, clouding his mind and his judgment, making him forget everything except the immediacy of her body and how good it felt. He turned them around and pressed her back against the boulder, deepening the kiss and, tentatively at first, but then confidently caressing her tongue with his. Korra sighed again, though this was more of a whimper. Her hands moved to the back of his head, knotting in his thick dark hair and pulling his mouth of hers harder. He obliged with his entire body, pinning her to the rock. This was so perfect, so rare, something he'd probably never get to have, never get to feel, again.

Kissing Asami wasn't like this. Korra would always be like this. A little desperate, hot, mind-clouding and perfect. She sucked on his lower lip, nibbling slightly, and it was his turn, not to whimper or sigh, but to let out a quiet moan of pleasure. He held her tighter, and despite their layers of clothing, he felt her breasts press against him, and wondered what that would feel like without his coat and her parka.

It was like he was trying to memorize every contour of her waist and her back, through touch alone, and she was doing the same thing with his shoulders, the sides of his face. He didn't want to have to remember how they felt. He wanted to always feel her in his hands, her body fitting so perfectly against his own.

"Ahem."

With simultaneous gasps, Mako and Korra broke apart. And were faced with Jinora, her fingers hiding her eyes. "You guys done?" the airbender asked.

"Y-Yes," Korra stuttered. That simple word was choking Mako too much for him to utter any sort of agreement or to refute it. "Jinora, please, you can't tell anyone about this."

"Like Asami, Mako's girlfriend?" Jinora scowled.

"Especially her. _Please_."

"Alright then." She looked speculative. "Then you two need to do something for me."

"What? Anything." Mako still hadn't said a word.

"I want you both to kiss again. I won't watch or anything."

"What? D-Don't be rid-ridiculous!" Korra stammered. "Why would you want that?"

"Because you two are in love." The ten-year-old (Seriously? thought Mako. What ten-year-old acts like this?) pointed from Korra to Mako.

"What? No we're not!" Korra cried. "What would make you think that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Jinora rolled her eyes. "For one thing, you fight all the time. For another, Korra always looks sad when Mako is with Asami, and Mako always looks sad when he's with Asami and sees Korra. Or when he sees Korra looking sad about anything. Or whenever he sees Korra." Mako turned bright red all the way to the tips of his ears. "You guys have been living here all together for a while now. I'm not blind."

"Um." Mako spoke at last. "One kiss? That's all?"

"That's all."

He turned to Korra. "It's your turn again," he said. This was crazy, like he'd ever get another "turn" after hers. This whole thing, including kissing her in the first place, was crazy. But he was going with it anyway, because apparently being crazy felt amazing.

"O-Okay," Korra faltered. "But just because Jinora's blackmailing us."

"I prefer the term 'extortion'." There was something wrong with this child.

"Whatever. Look away." She did. Korra turned back to Mako, her cheeks flaming. She mouthed a silent "I'm sorry," looking mortified. She was about to move in and kiss him, a much more chaste one than the previous, but Mako beat her to the punch. And the second his lips touched hers, it became clear that it was a _flaming_ punch.

His hands cupped her cheeks and his tongue once again delved into her mouth, which was already open in surprise. Korra melted in his arms and locked her fingers together at the back of his neck. They were starting to clutch each other closer when they both remembered Jinora, and broke apart. She was nowhere to be seen, but then the airbender poked her head around the back of the boulder. "I'll go look up local volcanoes for you, Korra." And she left.

Mako and Korra looked at each other. "Happy Birthday," he said to her lamely.

"Thanks." She narrowed her eyes. "When's _your_ birthday?"

"Um, in about two months. The twenty-eighth."

"Remind me not to think of anything to get you as a present." She leaned in and pecked him once on the cheek. And then turned and ran off, leaving him with a hand pressed to the spot where her lips had touched him. If only his birthday were tomorrow.

**A/N: Please don't favorite or alert without reviewing!**


	7. Shiver

**A/N: This is just an old throwback to episode 3. Please don't favorite or alert without reviewing!**

The chilly fog was drifting across the park, hiding the trees and the fountain. Mako could still see Korra, sitting just a foot or two away from him. She'd nodded off a little while ago, leaning against Naga. Mako was no stranger to sleeping outdoors like this (and his pillow had usually been something much less comfortable that polar bear dog fur), but he found himself unable to fall asleep, too busy worrying about his brother.

The cold air was trying to seep into his bones, but being a firebender had its side benefits. Korra, despite her proficiency with fire, had been born with ice water in her veins. He saw her started to shiver, and her brow crease in discomfort.

His entire brain seized up. Maybe the same protective instinct that had always applied to Bolin was being awakened, but it didn't seem like that. He just knew his every thought had started screaming bloody murder, _"Korra being cold is not okay! Warm her up right this second!"_

Only one way to do that.

Very gingerly, he inched over to her until their sides touched. He could see goosebumps raised on her skin, and moved a little closer. A few minutes later, Korra stopped shivering. Her body relaxed. This also meant that she snuggled closer and her head drooped onto his shoulder.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Even though she was asleep and unaware of how she was . . . cuddling with him, Mako was very much in the know. His cheeks flushed pink. She exhaled on him, her breath tickling his skin and making him shiver too, but not from the cold. He looked down at her face, now smooth in contentment, and smiled. Before he knew it, he was nodding off too, and rested his head on top of hers.


	8. Scream Part 1

Korra's pain, like so often, was of her own making. It had been her choice to do the right thing, to let Mako go and be with Asami, to even allow all three of them to move in on the island. She'd been a good person, done the selfless thing, the right thing.

Then how could the right thing feel so _wrong_?

The right thing was the good thing, and good things were supposed to feel good. But if didn't, it felt horrible, it felt like her heart was being crushed in her chest, and when it finally got ripped out altogether it would be a dried-up husk. Of course that was why Mako didn't like her, because she came up with disgusting descriptions of disembodied hearts. Of course he liked Asami better, who was so ladylike and polite even if she wasn't prissy like Korra had thought.

And that was another thing. It had been so easy to hate her, and it made Korra feel better. But now she couldn't bring herself to do that anymore, couldn't stop liking the girl who was so nice and who had given up everything to join their cause and save their lives.

So she couldn't hate Asami, and she should hate Mako, but she couldn't because she was almost certain she'd fallen in love with him. When trying to get over a crush, it's a bad idea to invite him to live with you in pretty close quarters. All it had done was make her like him more and make everything else hurt more.

After a few weeks she couldn't take it anymore. She ran to her room, shut the door, covered her face in her hands, and screamed. And didn't stop. She screamed until there was no voice left in her lungs, until her mouth was dry and her throat ached. She screamed until there was no air in her chest. There was only pain, and a twisted, bitter longing.

**A/N: Please people, don't Favorite or Alert without LEAVING A REVIEW, as most people do. **


	9. Scream Part 2

Korra came into the kitchen at dinner time and said she wasn't hungry and would stay in her room. This was highly unusual behavior. Korra turned and as soon as she was out of sight, ran down the hall to her room. It only took Mako a second to get up and follow her, ignoring the questioning looks of the others.

She didn't seem to notice him. She slammed the bedroom door behind her and he heard the click of the lock. And then he heard her scream, too muffled for anyone further away to hear, but it lasted a long time. He was paralyzed, terrified that an Equalists or someone had been lying in wait for her, but her behavior, running to her room, indicated that such was not the case.

It was the worst sound he'd ever heard. Korra screaming. It was like nails scratching on his soul, on his protesting heart.

And then it ended, and was replaced by a few choked noises. And then nothing, and then Korra started talking. He didn't know that Korra talked to herself. And he really didn't know that she said things like _that_.

"Of course she needs you. But I need you too. She just had to not join the Equalists. I have to defeat them all!"

He realized she wasn't talking to herself. She was talking to him, as if she knew he was there, but he had the sense that she didn't.

"Notice me!" He heard a pillow thrown across the room. "Notice. Me. You. _Jackass_!" Mako heard another choked sound, a sob. Enough was enough. He waited a moment, and then, "Korra!" He knocked on the door. "It's me!"

"Oh." He could hear panic in her voice. "Um, I'm busy. Can we talk later?"

"Korra, I heard you. Now let me in!"

She opened the door. Her face was angry and bright red, but he could still see tear tracks. "So, I'm a jackass that you need to notice you, huh?" he asked softly.

"Shut up." She turned her back on him. "What do you want?"

"I . . . I just . . ." Korra looked over her shoulder at him. A couple of the tracks on her cheeks were fresh now. And that was too much for him. Without thinking for a second, he moved forward and wrapped his arms around her.

Korra turned around to face him. He couldn't look at her like this, knowing it was his fault. So he shut his eyes and leaned in to kiss her.

"Hey . . ." Korra mumbled. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

And he kept saying it, even after they'd fallen backwards onto Korra's bed, even after their clothes were off and they'd gone too far to ever go back. When they were tangled together afterwards, she finally said something back: "I'm sorry too. What do we do now?"

He pulled her closer and buried his face in her neck. "I don't know. But I don't want to let go."

She shut her eyes. "Never do."

**A/N: Leave a review, please! I wish I had any talent for writing sex scenes, cuz I totally would've. Maybe if I ever learn the skill I'll go back and include some. **


	10. Good Reasons

When Korra woke up, she was in her darkened room, stretched out on a bed. For a moment, she puzzled over what had happened. Then it all came flooding back, and only one thing was in her mind.

Mako.

She tossed back the sheets and leapt out of bed, ignoring the soreness in her limbs, She dashed out of the room and down the hall to the kitchen, where she was overjoyed to see Pema. _Mako Mako Mako. _

Before Korra could even ask, she said, "Five blocks west of the ferry port, Room 209."

And Korra was out the door. She didn't even bother with the ferry or any kind of boat, she just dove into the water and bended herself across the bay as fast as she could. _Mako Mako Mako. _

She ran and ran and ran until her chest ached, until she reached the hospital. Then she skidded through the doors and past the receptioin desk without bothering to sign in or heed the secretary's demand to stop. _Mako Mako Mako_.

209 . . . 209 . . .

At the top of the stairs, she could barely breathe, but continued on.

And yet she hesitated at the door to his room. What kind of condition would he be in?

Korra knocked, and finding it unlocked, went inside. And then could barely stand to see what was before her.

Mako lay on the bed, a large white bandage covering the would on his side. His eyes were shut. A pale Bolin was at his bedside. "Hey, Korra," he greeted her, looking relieved.

"Bolin. He . . . how . . . ?" She couldn't form the question any more than she could bear to hear the answer or tear her eyes from her beloved's blank face.

"He'll be alright. It was a ad injury, but the healers at this hospital are the best."

Despite his reassuring words, Korra's eyes filled with tears. She wiped them away impatiently. Bolin, looking sympathetic, came over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You were amazing, y'know. The Avatar State, like you always talked about."

"I – I thought he was dead. I thought the rest of us were going to die, too," she whispered.

"Yeah, I figured it was something like that. He's alright, though," he told her soothingly. "We all are. Can't say the same for those, Equalists, though," he added proudly.

"Bolin, I . . ."

"I know. It's okay." With his arm still around her shoulders, they walked back to Mako's bedside. Bolin sat back down, and she reached out to touch Mako's hand. She blinked. Holding his hand wasn't enough. For her to know that he really was okay, she needed to feel him, solid against her, like he always was. So she climbed onto the bed with him and wrapped her arms around his neck, carefully avoiding his wound.

"Here." Bolin held out Mako's red scarf. Korra took it, and carefully would it around his neck. She buried her face in it, letting the word fabric soak up the tears she couldn't hold back.

Mako stirred. His eyes fluttered open. "K-Korra?" he croaked.

"Mako! You're awake!" she cried, and broke into fresh sobs, clinging to him even tighter.

"Yeah. Jeez, Korra, get a grip." He chuckled. "Hey, Bo," he said to his brother.

"Hi Mako." Bolin smiled wanly.

"So . . . what the hell happened?"

Korra took a deep breath. "One of the Equalists had an – an actual _sword_, and he stabbed you in the side with it and you collapsed. I thought you were dead!"

"I'm not," he said, comforting her with the obvious. "I was alright."

"Yeah, but I still went into the Avatar State." She looked a little sheepish.

"Really?" Mako was incredulous. "Over _me_?"

"Of course over you, stupid!" Korra snapped. "I love – !" She stopped dead.

Bolin coughed. "I'm getting tea," he announced abruptly, and quickly vacated the room.

"You . . . you what?" Mako asked, a small smile pricking at the corners of his mouth.

"Nothing."

"No, you distinctly said something." It bloomed into a full smirk.

Korra scowled. "Alright. Fine. I love you. I love you so much that I called down the wrath of every single Avatar before me to punish the people who tried to take you away from me." She swallowed hard. "I told you. I told you not to come – !"

"Hey," he interrupted. "I came because I wanted to protect you, make sure you were alright. Unlike the Avatar, I don't have a crazy defense mechanism that'll get triggered if someone tries to take _you_ away from _me_. I love you too." He didn't let her respond, and continued, "I love you so much that I'd trying to protect you, like I almost did."

"Don't you _ever_ say that!" Korra shrieked suddenly. "I don't need to have you protect me. I just need to have _you_, which will be awfully difficult if you died for no good reason!"

"Korra." He leaned in and kissed her. "You are a very good reason. On the other hand, going into the Avatar State over me – ?"

"Is entirely justified," she finished his sentence. "Now, you're alive, and we've just said 'I love you'. So I think _that_'s a good reason to kiss me again, cool guy."

"I agree." Mako leaned in and touched his lips to hers. "Hey, do you have extra healing abilities in the Avatar State? Maybe if I almost got killed again, you could – ?"

"Mako. Shut up."

**A/N: LEAVE A REVIEW, PLEASE!**


	11. Party

A/N: Um, this is my first try at real full-blown smut, so please LEAVE A REVIEW and tell me what you thought.

"Hey." Korra nudged Mako. "You wanna get out of here?"

Official parties were a huge bore. This time Korra had brought along Mako and Bolin to make it a little less unbearable. Unfortunately, that just meant the three of them all got to be bored. Well, Mako and Korra were. Bolin was ensconced in a corner with a pretty fellow party-goer. But hey, Mako got to see his girlfriend with her hair down and wearing a dress. Anything was worth that.

"Hell yeah," he replied. Smiling suggestively, she took his hand and led him through the maze of people and then a maze of rooms, getting progressively emptier, until they reached a darkened, deserted hallway.

"Sorry I made you come," she said sincerely.

"I'm not," he replied, and gestured to her appearance. "I got to see you like this."

"Shut up," she mumbled, but she leaned in and kissed him hard.

His response was immediate. They'd only been together a short while, but the intense friction between them had burst into roaring flames very quickly.

There was a convenient table. Mako lifted Korra up onto it and kept kissing her.

"Mm," she sighed appreciatively.

Times like these were when Mako was especially grateful for his long arms. He leaned down slightly and, starting with her ankles, ran his hands up Korra's legs, over her calves and her knees, all the way to the tops of her warm thighs, under her blue dress.

That placed his hands near another delectably warm area. Mako was also grateful for his long fingers – nearly as grateful as Korra.

Still kissing her, Mako slipped in one finger. Korra whimpered. He moved to bury his face in her neck and his finger further inside. Korra gasped, and gasped again as he started moving it, stroking and exploring, curving it inside her hot, wet entrance. His name escaped her lips, and it inflamed him still further. His other hand moved from her waist to her breast.

"Mako," she murmered, and brought him closer to her, "more privacy."

He moved his face just far enough from her hot skin to glance around the room, and spotted a closet. "In here," he whispered, and removed his finger (earning an annoyed whine from her) to lead her over. Her knees were a little wobbly, and he felt smug.

It was empty inside the closet except for a few easily brushed aside coats.

Mako pushed her back against the wall, and his finger, with the addition of a second one, resumed their former position. He rubbed the little bundle of swelling nerves with the pad of his thumb, and Korra gasped, weaving her hands through his hair and holding his face to the skin of her neck – not that he would have moved away if she hadn't. Her tongue slipped out and she ran it along his lower lip. Her hand moved downward, deftly unbuttoning his jacket and slipping under his undershirt to run up and down his chest, feeling his hot skin and subtly defined muscles. Then he reached the waistband of his hands.

Her hand plunged downward, seeking, finding, gripping, and he let out a low moan.

Korra chuckled and tugged the waistband down. In return he slipped her undergarments over her hips. She murmured her approval.

Pressing himself still closer, he gripped her hips and moved her up until her feet left the ground, keeping her upright between his own body and the wall. Korra spread her legs wider in response and brought his pants all the way down.

"Mako," she moaned again, "please." He kept kissing her neck for another moment of intense anticipation. She whined with need. He moved forward, in.

Korra wailed.

Or would have, if his hand hadn't clamped over her mouth to muffle the sound.

Keeping his hand there (Korra had a tendency towards being rather loud, something he loved but wasn't really convenient for public love-making), he settled into a rapid rhythm, panting now himself and saying her name over and over again while she said his head, along with pleas for him to go faster, harder. Korra's legs wrapped around his waist and she gripped his shoulders like a lifeline. Suddenly, he pulled almost all the way out, and she whimpered reproachfully. But then he slammed back in to the hilt, and she could only make a choked noise and dig her nails into his skin. Her walls began clenching around him as she got closer and closer to climaxing, and she started making the sweet sounds of intense pleasure that he loved even when they were muffled by his hand.

He needed to touch more of her. Taking the risk of removing his hand, he undid his scarf while still thrusting inside her, and tied it around her mouth. Her eyes widened and she made a muffled noise of protest, but then he started kissing her neck and sucked on the sensitive skin, using his newly free hand to knead her breast, and she forgot the cloth wrapped around her, and forgot pretty much everything except the man pressed against her.

Her covered gasps grew into high-pitched whines, and she started pulsing around him. Eyes threatening to roll back into his head, Mako plunged wildly into her in an effort to make her come before he lost control. It worked – her whines cut off as she gave a shuddering gasp, her nails clawing him causing that special kind of pain that was only pleasure. The combination of that and her contracting around him, and just _her_, pushed him to his own breathless completion.

They stayed there, still, for a few moments, silently clinging to one another and reveling in their union. Mako's head collapsed onto her shoulder and he took a shuddering breath. She stroked his spine. At some point his jacket had ended up on the floor and her dress unbuttoned nearly all the way. By wordless and mutually reluctant agreement, they parted and redressed. The distant sounds of the party filtered back into reality. Mako preferred when his universe had been comprised of their thundering pulses and desperate hands. "Couldn't we just stay in here?" he mumbled.

"Sorry," Korra replied with a wide smile. "But you are _definitely_ coming to the next one of these." She winked at him, and opened the door.


	12. Upset Plans

He's five and he's happy.

He's seven and he's an orphan.

He's thirteen and he's a criminal.

He's sixteen and he's a probender.

He's eighteen and he's focused.

He's twenty and he's in love.

She burst into his life like a whirlwind and he hated her. She upset his careful plans for life. She upset them with her impulsive explosive firebending. She upset them by changing the Fire Ferret dynamic. She upset them by pleading with him to go out with her and bolin, staring at him hopefully until he gave in. She upset them with her cerulean eyes that he could drown in.

It took him a while to realize just exactly how thoroughly she had upset his plans.

Mako was guarded and outwardly stoic. The girls who admired him, at least until they switched to the more charming Bolin, called him "brooding," which seemed synonymous with "sexy" in their thesauruses.

He behaved the same way around Korra. Or he tried. Korra wouldn't let him. She taunted and infuriated and goaded him until they yelled at each other and breathed fire in each other's faces. He could barely get through an ordinary conversation with her. And he hated anyone who could.

Korra was a beautiful girl. Mako wasn't blind by any means. Her eyes and her smile made him stop talking and stare for as long as he dared. Every movement, every twist and curve of her toned body, tried to draw his eyes. She upset his life now by upsetting his focus. But he never let on about his admiration. Bolin, in a rare platonic instance, called her beautiful once, right to her face. And it made Mako see red around the edges. And it made the entire world scarlet when other people appreciated her looks, guys like Tahno asking her out and leering and flirting. Korra never accepted or seemed to notice. She had even less experience with the opposite sex than he did. He thought he was just protective of his teammate and friend. Korra hadn't learned methods of intimidation that didn't end up getting her arrested.

Except when she intimidated him by giving him a smile so wide and friendly he couldn't breathe.

He finally realized that he wasn't just protective of her one afternoon in the park. Korra was being asked out, again. She'd already said she wasn't interested but he wouldn't leave. Korra, after a few too many run-ins with Chief Beifong, had started trying _not_ to solve all her problems by punching them in the face. She didn't know the other more subtle methods that he knew.

Before he could even think about it, Mako was standing beside Korra, towering over the guy, and scowling. "She said she wasn't interested," he said quietly.

The guy paled, and left before Korra could blink. She turned to thank him and tell him it hadn't been necessary. But he was already gone, walking over to Bolin, who laughed at him.

"What's so funny?" Mako snapped.

"You haven't figured it out yet, have you?" Bolin walked away, and Mako figured it out. He was jealous. He didn't want anyone asking out Korra. Except him. He was falling in love with Korra. And that destroyed his plans once and for all.

**A/N: DON'T FAVORITE OR ALERT WITHOUT REVIEWING, PLEASE.**


	13. Blank

Bolin had seen his brother furious. He's seen him terrified, he'd seen him happy, anxious, confused. He liked to pride himself on being able to read his older brother's face like a book, even when it was his usual stoic, brooding Pai Sho face. And Mako had long ago learned the art of using a look to intimidate someone, whether in the probending ring or out on the city streets. Bolin had never been scared of him.

Until now.

It wasn't Mako's expression. It was his total lack of expression. When they were in prison Mako had looked despondent but hopeful – he'd had complete confidence that Korra would get them out. And when they were released, his face relaxed into relief and an obvious eagerness (something that Bolin could tell Asami did not miss.)

"Where's Korra?" he'd asked, looking around.

Tenzin had sighed. "Avatar Korra has gone missing – kidnapped, we believe."

And then nothing. Mako's expression had become completely flat, devoid of anything. It wasn't even grim, it wasn't angry or frightened. It was nothing less than completely blank and completely terrifying.

Now, as they drove through the streets in Asami's Satomobile, searching aimlessly, Mako's face was still utterly blank. But his eyes were glowing with all the fear and rage he couldn't let himself show. They burned.

Bolin knew that Mako had always maintained an iron self-control and tried to protect his younger brother from all his too-adult worries. But Bolin wasn't stupid. And there had been a few notable exceptions when the self-control slipped, and Mako exploded. Now he knew that the flatness was being held in place with every bit of strength he could muster. And if that strength failed, Mako would be a total mess.

Ever since he'd walked in on them kissing, and since the pain had somewhat faded from the memory, Bolin had been paying attention to the interaction between his brother and his best friend. And even though Mako was for some inexplicable reason still with Asami (who was sweet and gorgeous and perfect but serious who'd stay with her if you could have Korra?), Bolin had watched the two of them grow closer and closer to being classified as completely head-over-heels. And from Mako's reaction (or lack thereof) to Korra being missing, he'd fallen face-first. Bolin couldn't help being rather jealous. But he was also grateful to not be in utter hell right now like Mako obviously was. Sure, he was worried sick about Korra – she'd become his best friend. But he wouldn't have an enormous pile of regrets like Mako would if Korra turned out to be –

No. He couldn't even think of that possibility.

He needed something more distracting that this endlessly nerve-wracking search and his brother's unchanging face. So he turned to Asami, sitting next to him in the driver's seat. Mako was so single-minded right now he hadn't even noticed being denied shotgun.

Asami was wearing a face of concentration. But she kept glancing over her shoulder at her supposed boyfriend, who was going out of his mind over another girl, and then her eyebrows would contract and her mouth pucker in grim comprehension.

It seemed Bolin wasn't the only one who'd noticed Mako's face-plant of love. At least he was lucky enough (using the phrase loosely) to have his heart broken before he got in too deep, like Asami had.

The Satomobile suddenly started slowing.

"Why are we stopping?" Mako demanded, jaw tight.

"I need to get refuel, Mako," Asami told him tersely. "We've been driving around for hours."

She got out of the Satomobile and walked over to the fuel station. Bolin turned to his brother. "You need to calm down, bro," he said quietly.

"I'm completely calm!" Katara Mako snapped.

"Doesn't look like that to me."

"Then you need to see a healer about your eyes. I just need to find her." He looked away. "I need to know she's safe."

"Me too. It might help if we had any idea where the Equalists might have taken her."

"Wait a second." Mako leaned forward, eyes widening. "I have an idea. Asami!" he yelled.

When she got back in the Satomobile, he told her, "Central City Station. And hurry."

Sure enough, once they got there, swaggering around under the Fire Lord's statue was a familiar young Earthbender in a tattered cap. "Heyy, Skoochy," Bolin began casually. "Listen, we were wondering if you'd heard anything about the Avatar's disappearance?"

"I dunno." The pickpocket smirked. "Can't seem to remem – EEP!"

"Listen, you." Mako had moved past Bolin and lifted Skoochy up into the air by his shirt collar. "You tell us what you know or I swear to Agni I'll – !"

"Okay, okay!" Skoochy stammered. "My buddy Ling saw this, like, armored Satotruck leave City Hall around 2 AM. The driver was this Water Tribe guy with really long hair. Looked pretty pissed."

"Tarrlok," Mako breathed. "We should have known. He lied to the police." He gave Skoochy a shake. "Anything else, kid?"

"Looked like somebody was Firebending in the back."

Mako dropped him. "Ow!" he complained. Mako just turned on his heel and started back for the Satomobile. Bolin coughed and slipped the kid a few yuans, then hurried after his brother.

"What are we going to do?" he asked, worried.

"Go tell Tenzin that Tarrlok is a dirty liar and he kidnapped Korra," Mako replied matter-of-factly. But his eyes still burned with barely-concealed rage. And pain.

"Why would he believe that?"

"I don't know, but he'd better. If not, we'll just have to keep searching for her ourselves."

"What's going on? Asami asked when they got back in the Satomobile.

"Amon didn't take Korra. Tarrlok did." Mako's voice was a low rumble.

"Oh, spirits, no." Asami squeezed her eyes shut for a half-second, and then pressed her foot to the pedal and began driving as fast as she could towards the ferry port. "We'll find her, Mako, and we'll save her," she promised – promised without looking at him. Bolin looked, though.

Mako's face was once again blank.


	14. Broken

**A/N: ASLDF;JAS;FLJKAS;DFASJKD;FLASJDF;ALSDFJASLDF. None of my thoughts on the finale are coherent. Here's something I spat out at random. Review, I beg of you!**

_Can't. Can't. Can't._

Korra's words rang in Mako's ears as her face filled his mind. What she'd said, her expression, her whole being. It all told him how very, very broken she was.

And he'd do anything if it meant she could be fixed.

So he ignored Tenzin, and took off running. He'd search the entire South Pole to find her.

He didn't care that he'd told her he loved her and she'd rejected him. That didn't matter. He knew that no matter what she said, he'd keep loving her and he'd never be able to stop. Not that he'd want to. Loving Korra, he'd already learned, was incredibly painful. But it was an exquisite pain.

He knew before he told her that he had no right to say this, to say, "I love you, Korra." But that was another painful thing. The words had been killing him, lodged in his throat for days, weeks, preventing him from breathing. He couldn't breathe without her, something else he'd learned when she had been kidnapped. Without her, he was broken.

While he listened to the snow crunching and the cold air burned his eyes, he wondered. How had she felt while he so stupidly refused to realize his own feelings for her? Had it felt this agonizing? But she hadn't been broken, not like she was now and not like he was without her. It was something else he'd realized. Asami might have needed him (though, when they'd broken up and she told him that she knew that was why he'd stayed with her, she didn't need him like that anymore), but Mako need Korra, needed her like fire needs oxygen.

So he ran. He ran after his broken love in the hope that together they could fix each other.


	15. Mothers

**A/N: I dunno what this is. I really just want Senna and Pema to be bros.**

.

.

"So," said Senna musingly, "that makes seven mornings in a row."

"And they had clothes on each time." Pema shook her head in wonder. "I can't understand it."

"I certainly wouldn't look _that_ happy if I were still dressed." The two women laughed in mutual agreement.

"Maybe it's an Avatar thing. Tenzin always spoke about his parents as if their connection was greater than even true love – it was spiritual, truly a soul mate situation." Pema smiled. She loved hearing stories about her parents-in-law. She'd only known Avatar Aang for a short while before he'd passed. It made her happy to think that her surrogate daughter Korra and the Firebender boy could be as happy as Aang and Katara.

"Oh, I don't know." Senna looked a bit worried. "Korra's so young – I know Aang was only twelve, but still – I don't know if I want my daughter to make that connection yet!" But she chuckled. "I can only imagine Tonraq's reaction, hearing about that happening to his little girl."

"Did you hear them the other day, before Korra got her bending back and they were outside talking? Mako said 'I love you'." Pema looked dreamy, almost like one of her young daughters.

"Really? That's so adorable." Senna smiled.

For the past week, either Senna or Pema had looked in on Korra in her bedroom and found her asleep (fully dressed), cuddled in Mako's arms. Both of them looked utterly content and peaceful every time, preventing either mother from waking them or mentioning anything. The two of them had a look that made it seem like a terribly private moment, that anyone else would be an intruder of the highest caliber.

"I have occasionally heard Korra cry out in her sleep," said Senna sadly. "That's probably when he comes in."

"But his room is rather further away from hers than yours and Tonraq's." Pema frowned. "I have heard stories about the connection between the Avatar and the one they love – I would guess that's how he can hear her, or sense that she's upset."

"Oh, my." Senna shook her head and laughed. "This is getting a bit too far into 'spirit magic' for me." She cocked her head to the side. "Keep me posted on how this develops after you get back into the city, won't you?"

"Definitely." The two of them shared a knowing smile.

.

.

Down the hall, Mako and Korra were just waking up. "Hey," Korra mumbled sleepily. "Happened again, huh?"

"Yeah," Mako whispered. "They're . . . They're getting better, though." He smiled, but it was a little sad. "I'll actually kind of miss it when you don't have nightmares anymore. Sleeping with you, that is."

Korra laughed a little ruefully. "By the time that happens, cool guy, we'll probably be married." Realizing what she'd just said, she covered her mouth with her hands and stared at him in horror. "I didn't – I just meant – I don't – !"

Mako leaned down and kissed her. "Yeah," he agreed. "We'll probably be married."


	16. Looked

**A/N: This is actually mostly Borra angst but I figure since he's angsting over Makorra . . .**

.

.

I looked to her and she looked to him. I always looked to her, and she always, always looked to him. My brother. He'd given me everything I'd ever needed and now he was taking everything I'd ever wanted. In a girl, anyways.

I told Asami I'd gotten over it, and I was lying. I broke a little inside every time I saw them together. Even though they weren't a couple, even though Mako was still acting like a confused idiot, what there was between was so strong it was palpable. It was like Mako's scarf tied them together, the famous red string of fate.

I knew she broke a little inside, too. Probably more than me, since at least Mako was supposed to love her, at least he acted like he did – sometimes. Whenever Korra wasn't in the room. I was just Korra's friend. Asami had to be breaking worse than me.

But I couldn't imagine tinier pieces than the ones I was fragmenting into. And yet, unlike her, even if Korra and I weren't together, we were friends. Mako was my brother. I'd have something left as soon as I lost everything.

But I wouldn't have Korra. And right now, if I didn't have Korra, I didn't have anything.

I ate another dumpling while Mako and Korra talked about Amon in low voices. Neither of them looked at me. But I always looked at her.


	17. Family

**A/N: Inspired by something I saw on Tumblr. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW PLEASE.**

.

.

Korra found him sitting outside on the steps of the temple. "Hey, City Boy," she said, sitting down beside him and leaning her head on her shoulder. "Why are you lookin' so broody?"

"No reason." He looked away from her and didn't lean his head on top of hers or pull her closer like he usually did.

"Hey," she said, concerned now. "Really, what's the matter?" She put her index finger under his chin and tilted it towards her to look in his eyes. She loved his eyes – the same shade of red-gold as the setting sun.

"I've just been thinking," he murmured.

"Always a bad idea," she mock-agreed.

He gave her a look. "I've been thinking," he repeated, "about you, and Bolin, and Asami, and how we're . . . we're like this team, y'know?"

"Of course." Korra grinned. "Team Avatar – _my_ team!"

"And . . . and I've never had anything like that. It was always me, I was my own team – one dedicated to protecting Bolin and myself. Now, we protect each other, we protect you, _I _protect you." He smiled ruefully. "Even if I don't always do such a great job of that."

"You do great, honey," Korra told him truthfully. "It's not that hard to protect someone who doesn't _need_ protecting – !"

"We've been over this, Korra," he replied. "I know you can take care of yourself, just let me help you do it, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." But she smiled widely at him. "So, you've been thinking about the four of us, that's a happy subject, isn't it? You have people with you now."

"It is," he agreed. "But . . . I'm just afraid of losing it all. I've lost a lot of people in my life." He looked at her with an old sadness in his eyes. "I'm afraid of losing you, Korra. You're . . . you're my family. And I don't know what would happen to me if . . . if . . . I can't even say it."

"You shouldn't say it," Korra said firmly. "Because it's not gonna happen. Amon is gone, and whenever the next problem comes up, we'll handle it together, okay? You and me." She linked their fingers together. "You know . . ." she began, "In the Water Tribe, we have this word. Ohana."

"What's that mean?"

"Ohana means family. And in the Water Tribe, family means no one gets left behind, or forgotten."

Mako swallowed hard. And he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck. "I love you," he muttered against her skin.

"And I love you. Mako?"

"Yeah?"

"You're my family too. You're the best family I could ever have." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips, putting all the honesty of her words into it. They didn't let go of each other for a long time, and when they finally did, they knew it was only temporary.


	18. Carry Me

This had been happening far too often. Not having Korra in his arms – he could never have that happen too much. No, it was having Korra in his arms, beaten, bruised, _damaged_, so hurt by the world that she couldn't walk on her own. After they'd found her, limp on Naga's back, he swore that she'd never be in the same condition, not if he had anything to say about that. And yet just a couple weeks later, he was running down the hall carrying her – and he'd _dropped _her, for Agni's sake. Now here he was again, holding Korra tightly in his arms, walking through what remained of the pro-bending arena.

Holding Korra was something he'd thought about, dreamt about, for a while now. But now it had become the stuff of nightmares.

"_I'm fine. I'm glad you're here."_

"_Mako . . . my bending . . ."_

And now nothing, just broken sobbing, soaking through the rough fabric of the Equalist uniform he still wore. Mako could barely walk himself – bloodbending was a pain unlike anything he'd ever experienced. And being slammed against the walls hadn't exactly been soothing. But Korra, Korra had lost her bending. Their aches and pains would go away, strength would return, but she'd lost something that was beyond healing. This damage, the reason he carried her, would not fade away while he held her hand. Her pain right now must be so much worse than his.

He remembered the agony in her voice when Amon almost taken his bending too. "No!" she had screamed. It was a tone twin to the one he'd yelled in when Amon had taken hers, called her name like that would stop it. It was a horrible parallel to when he'd lost his parents, when he'd shouted for them over the roar of the flames and received no response. But it was worse, because now he wasn't a child who had never fought. He was eighteen years old, and he should have been able to protect her of all people. Korra, the Avatar, the girl he loved and was now firmly convinced he'd walk off the face of the planet for if it would make her happy.

Happiness was far from either of their faces. They were both loaded with pain, still in fear because Amon – Noatok – had escaped. But Korra was enveloped not just in his arms, but in crushing grief. He could see it in her face. He couldn't look away from it, her features contorted in every negative feeling that he would give his life to spare her from – he almost had. But he had failed. So now he was determined, determined to carry her to safety. He'd be strong enough for both of them, strong enough to carry her when she couldn't walk. Maybe then someday he could hold her like he'd dreamed, and it wouldn't be a nightmare anymore.


	19. Shock

Tonraq was still getting used to the warm weather here on Air Temple Island. He knew Korra loved it, especially the sandy beach on the south side. It was still odd for him to see waves crashing on bare rocks and tiny grains of shells instead of towering walls of ice and snowy floating islands covered in tiger seals, dinner for his family. But his daughter always talked about the beach, so he was going to it to try and get used to the sight.

She always talked about going with that Firebender boy. He wasn't sure what to think of the young man, who was nearly his own height, and always had a dark brooding expression, except when he looked at Korra – then it turned soft and faintly smiling, an expression not unlike the one Tonraq wore when he looked at Senna. So he was trying to approve of their relationship, putting effort into not threatening Mako within an inch of his life – _if you hurt my daughter . . . _Tonraq knew his daughter was almost eighteen, nearly a woman, but she would always be his little girl, the pot-bellied toddler who hadn't yet thrown a fireball in his face. He never thought anything could be more shocking than that.

But he changed his mind when he walked down to the beach and found his daughter, lying on the sand, wearing no shirt, no wrappings, pinned to the beach beneath a Firebender with a bare chest and wandering hands. That was the shock of his life.


	20. Too Much Fun

"Um. Korra?"

"Yeah?" Korra replied sleepily, snuggling closer into Mako's shoulder. "What is it."

"It . . . it broke."

"Hm?"

"The condom broke."

"What."

.

.

.

"This could have been avoided, you know," Pema said calmly, eyeing Korra's round stomach. "There are backup plans I could have helped you with."

"What?" Korra frowned. "Why didn't anyone ever mention these to me?"

"I suppose they didn't think the Avatar would be getting pregnant at age seventeen." Pema looked reprovingly at Korra and Mako, sitting on the couch. Well, Korra was on the couch. Mako was sitting mostly on the floor, his head pressed to her round stomach. "I have to check on _my_ baby now. We can talk about it later. You kids have fun. I suppose it's a little late to say not too much." Both soon-to-be parents blushed.

"Korra?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you wish you had talked to her about that Plan B thing?"

"Not in the slightest," Korra said honestly.


	21. Seven Minutes

The party had been low-key so far. Just some friends hanging out, some underage drinking, and Bolin cracking jokes. But then Asami decided to play her favorite party game, combination spin the bottle/Seven minutes in heaven. In a show of good sportsmanship, she went first. And seven minutes later, came out of a closet with Tahno, looking disheveled but pleased – she was a little to drunk to be embarrassed.

And then it was Korra's turn. "Asami," she mumbled to her best friend, "what if I land on Mako?"

Mako was tall dark and handsome, and Korra had crushed on him ever since she changed to their high school.

"Then, whoopee!" the inebriated heiress whispered back.

"Shit," Korra grumbled. She had too much pride to back out of the game, and too much bad luck for the bottle to _not _point at Mako. Couldn't it point at Bolin, her one-time dating partner and present-day guy best friend, and Mako's younger brother? They could have a lot of fun faking kissing noises in the closet.

She spun the bottle.

The bottle pointed to Mako.

"Whooo-hoooo!" Asami catcalled, while Tahno jeered and the still-sober Bolin shot Korra a sympathetic look. Mako remained stoic. Surely he just wanted them to sit in the closet and pretend for a few minutes. Surely he didn't want to do this at all. Surely he didn't know how badly she did.

The two of them filed into the thankfully spacious closet. They sat at opposite ends. Korra swallowed. "Are . . . are we gonna do this?"

Mako wouldn't look at her. "Mako?" she said. "We could just fake it."

He looked up suddenly. "I don't want to fake it," he said. "Why? Do you not want to kiss me?"

Korra flushed. "N-No, I just – do you want to kiss me?"

"I asked first."

Her throat locked. This was possibly the moment she'd been avoiding for months, and now she had finally been forced into it – admitting her feelings. Well, she was nothing if not reckless. "Yes, okay?" she snapped. "I've wanted to kiss you since September!" She shut her eyes and turned away, horribly embarrassed. He'd just get up and leave the closet, disgusted, of course.

Instead, she felt a hand on her cheek and lips on hers. "Good," Mako mumbled. "Cuz I have too."

.

.

.

"Uh, guys? . . . It's been a lot longer than seven minutes."


	22. Sing

They fought together for years, became soldiers and warriors together. Mako watched her enter the Avatar State, handle complicated negotiations, and maintain the balance of the world. She was so much huger, her very existence. Even after they were married, even after they'd had a child together, Mako had to try to see Korra as his wife and mother of his baby, something separate from the all-powerful Avatar, larger than life. She was so much bigger than him, than their life together.

Except when she sang to baby Kazuna. She only did it when he wasn't there, embarrassed by her voice, even though to him it sounded like an angel's.

But he would sneak in, stand by the doorway and watch the two of them, the baby in her arms, singing softly – "_Leaves from the vine, falling so slow . . ."_

It was then, and only then, that she was small enough for him to go forward and have her fit so perfectly in his arms.

"Do you always listen?" she asked. He nodded. ". . . I love you. So much."

"I love you too."

And they sang to their baby together.

_Leaves from the vine,_

_Falling so slow,_

_Like fragile tiny shells, _

_Drifting in the foam. _

_Little soldier boy,_

_Come marching home._

_Brave soldier boy,_

_Comes marching home._


	23. New Uses for Ice Cream

"How's yours?" asked Mako, taking a lick of his peppermint ice cream. Korra had gotten her favorite leechee. He liked taking her out for ice cream because kissing her tasted even better than usual afterward. They were walking down the street, eating their cones. It was a blisteringly hot Republic City afternoon – Mako had even taken off his beloved scarf and tucked it carefully into his pocket.

"It's delicious!" Korra said happily. "This was a perfect way to cool off."

"Easy for you to say, you're not wearing this jacket," Mako grumbled.

"So take it off, and you'll be a _cool _guy again." Korra snorted at her own joke.

Mako chuckled despite himself. "I'm just wearing my undershirt beneath it, though."

"So?" she said innocently.

"Korra."

"Yeah, yeah." They kept walking. She noticed he had sweat beading on his forehead, and sexy as that was – it made her think of other times when he got sweaty – she felt bad for her boyfriend. And then she got an idea.

Korra stuck out her foot so that Mako stumbled on it, and his face landed smack in his ball of ice cream.

"Aghh!" he spluttered. "What the hell?"

"I discovered a new use for ice cream! You cooled off now?" she cackled.

He scowled. "Yes, actually. I have very cold eyeballs. Can you at least bend it off of me?"

"I have a better idea." She leaned up and licked his cheek. "Mm-mm. Deelish."

Not one to be denied some revenge, he leaned in and kissed her deeply, making sure to get ice cream on her face too. "There," he smirked. "Now we're even."

Korra smiled. "Not quite, city boy." She grabbed his collar and pulled him down to kiss him long and hard, leaving him slightly dazed. "I think I just thought of another use for ice cream," she said huskily. "Let's go home and I'll finish cleaning you off . . . in private." She grabbed his hand and started dragging him down the street like she always did.

Mako glanced from his girlfriend's swaying hips to the remains of his ice cream. Maybe they should go back for some more.


	24. A Thief in the Night

**A/N: Celebrating 100 reviews, have this!**

Tonraq always worried about his daughter. She was the Avatar, it would be impossible for him not to. The White Lotus was sworn to keep her safe, but he still feared accidents and thieves in the night.

Of course, thirteen years after she was discovered as the Avatar, a new kind of thief became the bigger threat.

Mako was a very polite boy, nice, and obviously devoted to Korra. Tonraq's daughter, who he'd never stopped seeing as the three-year-old staring at her handful of flames in wonder. Now she stared at Mako's face in wonder, at the flames in _his _hand.

Tonraq had heard legends of the Avatar having one soulmate in the world, who they'd meet and keep loving for the rest of their life, and vice-versa. He knew it had happened to Avatar Aang when he was just a child, but somehow he'd hoped that Korra's would be put off longer, not just by five years but by ten, fifteen. He wanted her to be his baby girl longer, his baby girl to protect from thieves in the night. But this one, this thief, she had _allowed _to climb in her window.

Literally.

One morning Tonraq had gotten up extra-early to go hunting, when he noticed movement in the corner of his eye. There was the firebender boy, climbing out of Korra's bedroom window with messy hair and a smile. He took off running before Tonraq stopped gaping, making his way back to the guest hut. It took all of his willpower not to throw his spear at him.

Once he'd calmed down, he decided the smart thing to do would be to consult Senna. His wife was surely better at this than he was.

"I trust Korra, and I think you need to too. Leave it alone, dear. Korra's grown up. And they're in love, you can tell just by looking. I don't think this is a passing thing. She'll probably have a betrothal necklace around her neck in a few years – or, I think they use rings in Republic City?"

It took several minutes for Tonraq to recover the power of speech. By then, his wife was gone and he had no choice but to follow her advice.

Most of it.

The next morning found him standing silent and still outside of Korra's window. Sure enough, here came the firebender boy – Mako, Tonraq had to remind himself – climbing outside. Quick as the born hunter he was, Tonraq reached out and snatched the boy's ear. "Ow!" Mako groaned. "Oh. Um. Hello, sir."

"Hello, Mako," Tonraq said dryly. "I can see you're not in your own bed."

"Um, well, I was just – ?"

"Save it," he said firmly. "I know what you were doing, and I - !"

"Actually, Dad, we weren't."

Suddenly, there was Korra, her head poking out the window and an alert and rather annoyed expression on her face. "We were just sleeping, Dad. Nothing else."

"Right, like I'm going to believe that," Tonraq snorted. "Why on earth would you be - ?"

"Nightmares, Dad," Korra said quietly. "Mako and I both have nightmares, and sleeping together helps."

"O-Oh." Tonraq faltered. Korra had always suffered from nightmares, since she was a little girl. And they could only have gotten worse with her traumas of the past few months and weeks. "I just assumed – climbing in and out of your window like some petty thief – !"

"I haven't stolen anything, sir," Mako said sincerely.

"Except my heart," Korra added fondly. Mako blushed ten shades of crimson, and Tonraq let go of his ear.

". . . Are you still tired, Korra?" he finally asked.

"Yeah." Korra yawned.

"Then you – you get back in there." Tonraq shoved the fireben – _Mako_ back through the window. "I don't like this," Tonraq said sternly. "But as long as you don't act like a criminal, I won't treat you like one."

And he wouldn't. Because Tonraq could protect his daughter from all the real thieves in the night, but not the ones in her dreams. It seemed that only Mako could do that, and he wasn't about to stop him.


	25. Makorra Month - Forever and Always

**A/N: I'll be posting all my Makorra Month drabbles here. I'm late, and that's lame, so I'm going to write companion poems for my late entries, which will be this (Forever and Always), Red String of Fate, and probably Compatibility. **

_She asks for his trust when things are grim,_

_Though they've known each other for mere days._

_They don't know that he will love her, than she will love him,_

_That they'll be together forever and always._

_He sees the want in the way her eyes glow,_

_She sees the attraction his face betrays._

_But neither of them can even guess, much less know,_

_That they'll be together forever and always. _

_She knows what they feel is not the stuff of mere friendships,_

_She knows they were meant for each other in all ways._

_And he begins to realize, when she first kisses his lips,_

_That they'll be together forever and always. _

_They've fought side by side through thick and thin, _

_Stayed strong as the fires of war blaze._

_Both realize, after peace is restored and they win,_

_That they'll be together forever and always._

There were very few material objects that Mako prized higher than any others. There was his precious red scarf, belonging to his father, and one other small item, one small item that he could never bring himself to pawn, even if it meant working twice as hard to support himself and his brother. It was his mother's wedding ring, a silver band that had slipped off her finger as she was murdered.

He wears it now on a thick chain around his neck, the strongest one he could afford, hidden beneath his jacket. He never speaks of it, not even to Korra, who he tells everything now. But of course, she finds it, when for the first time his jacket is flung to the floor and her hands explore the skin under his shirt.

"What's this?" she asks suddenly, and he realizes her fingers have found the ring. "It's nothing," he says quickly, voice slightly muffled because his lips are pressed against her neck.

"It's not nothing if you're wearing it around your neck, cool guy," she chuckles. "Tell me!" She gives a slight tug on the thick chain.

"Alright, alright." He rolls off her and the chain slips through her loosened fingers. Reluctant, but unable to resist her (as always), he pulls it over his head and lets it pool in his palm. "It was my mother's," he said softly. "Her wedding ring."

"Wow," Korra mumbled. "You managed to keep it all these years?"

"I'll keep it forever," he responded firmly. "Always."

"Can I . . . ?" She reached for it, and he allowed it. It made him a little crazy when even Bolin looked at it occasionally, but for some reason Korra touching it, holding it, felt right.

Mako felt as if he were in a dream, watching Korra clumsily undo the chain and slip the ring off it, holding it carefully in her hand. She looked up from it, into his eyes, when he reached out and took hold of her wrist. "Here," he said softly. He picked up the ring and slid it onto the third finger of her left hand. Korra stared at it.

And then she lunged forward, kissing him deeply and gripping his shoulders. He felt the cool metal of the ring press into his heated skin. He pulled back slightly, and looked into her eyes. Somehow, this had become a critical moment. "How long are you going to wear that ring?" he asked urgently.

"Forever," she said immediately, breathless. "Always."

And so he kissed her again, lacing his fingers with hers. He'd need to get a ring, too.


	26. Makorra Month - Red String of Fate

The floor was cold. It was dirty and dank. Just a few feet away there were still puddles of opaque sewer water – and whatever it was that made it opaque was caked all over her boots. She'd been careful to avoid getting it anywhere else.

Old habits die hard.

And yet here she was, richest girl in Republic City, sitting on the floor of a sewer tunnel, freezing her million-yuan ass off and starving to death.

Oh, and watching her soon-to-be-but-not-yet ex-boyfriend hold another girl close.

Ever since they'd descended into this labyrinthine sewer, Mako's arm had been glued in place around Korra, his thumb rubbing – hell, _caressing_ – her shoulder. And then, after walking for hours, they'd stopped for a break here. They'd all sat down, Mako and Korra beside each other, him still holding her, and Asami and Bolin a couple of feet away.

The four of them had sat in silence for a few somber minutes. And then Korra started sobbing – seemed to finally break after days and days of stress and misery.

Asami stared and tried to think what to do – she had nothing, no comforting words, no reassurances. Bolin floundered helplessly as well.

Naturally, Mako was the one to comfort her. He murmured in her ear, gripped Korra's hand and shoulder tightly. And when that didn't work, pulled her into his lap completely, wrapping both harms around and silently pressing his face into her hair. Finally, Korra quieted, and fell asleep, soothed into much-needed slumber by the boy so clearly loved.

Asami watched as Mako lifted his head, face softer than she'd ever seen. She watched as he unwound his scarf, his precious scarf that no one was allowed to touch, ever, and wrapped it around Korra's neck. Korra snuggled her face deeper into his jacket, and made the smallest of noises. Mako pressed a kiss to her temple and pulled the red garment up over her chin.

She understood now. Asami understood that Mako's scarf, old and loved and worn but never torn or tossed away, was the red string of fate. It was a legend she'd always loved, about the unbreakable red thread that eternally connected two soulmates. It connected Mako and Korra, represented by the ancient scarf that he allowed only her to wear.

Asami expected tears of her own, but they never came. She watched, dry-eyed, as Mako also fell asleep, with his cheek pressed against his soulmate's hair, and began to snore faintly.

She felt Bolin stir beside her. He said softly, "It was always gonna be the two of them, wasn't it?"

Her sigh came out as a big gust of air, full of regrets and expectations and acceptance. "Yeah," she agreed. "Yeah, it was."


	27. Makorra Month - Compatibility

"Aren't they adorable?" sighed Ikki.

Jinora smiled. "An ideal couple."

"I think so too," agreed Korra.

"Definitely," Mako added.

Naga and Pabu were playing together all the time lately. Pabu rode around on Naga's head, and they were frequently seen rubbing noses. It was an . . . interesting sight, the enormous polar bear dog and the small, sleek fire ferret, in love.

"Almost as adorable as you two!" Ikki squealed suddenly, hopping around and pointing from Mako to Korra, both of whom blushed.

"We are _not_ adorable," Korra insisted, rapping the seven-year-old airbender on the head with her knuckles.

"Whatever." Ikki shrugged and turned back to her _new_ favorite couple. "Maybe they'll have babies!" she gasped happily.

"I'm afraid they're not genetically compatible," corrected Jinora.

"Oh." The younger girl looked disappointed. But then she leaned in and whispered something to her sister, who nodded in response. Ikki's smile returned, with a new mischievous edge, and she turned the full force of it on Mako and Korra. "Are _you_ going to have babies?"

"What?!" Korra shrieked.

"No!" Mako spluttered. "No for a long time," he added. His girlfriend smiled slightly.

"But why not?" Ikki pouted. "Jin says you're com-compatible."

"Compatibility and readiness are very different things!" Korra said, red-faced. Mako nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Too bad." Ikki's pout increased. She then turned and led her sister over to the frolicking animals.

Mako smirked at Korra. "Just how compatible are we, do you think?"

"I'd say more than Naga and Pabu," she drawled back.

They both laughed, and followed after the two young airbenders.


End file.
